[CeeBeeR]

I'm one of the rare few who got a Creta delivered well before committed timelines.

Model: Creta Diesel Automatic SX(O) Black
Booking Date: 20 Feb 2022
Committed Delivery Date: 2 months from booking date.
Actual Delivery Date: 12 Mar 2022

[carthick1000]

Originally Posted by Kulvinder

I am actually not able to vote and I don't know the reason for it.

Welcome to team-bhp! You need to be a BHP-ian (atleast 25 posts or more) to vote. Here you can see the explanation to membership levels (Explanation of Membership Levels (Newbie, BHPian etc) & Their Benefits)

[Catalyst_delhi]

Booked the new XL6 on 9th of May22 and delivered on the 19th May22. Was an Alpha + MT Splendid Silver from Bimal Auto Mahadevapura Bangalore. Everything completed, meaning the HSRP, Fastag and any other app that the car needed, was closed by the 21st May 22. This was my best experience so far. 3 years ago booked an XUV, that is another story altogether. Voted basis my experience with Nexa on the XL6 alone.

[Rada]

Voted for option 3 - Longer than committed.

I booked the MG ZS EV in Dec 2021. Opted for the higher-end Exclusive version since the SA indicated an earlier delivery (2 to 3 months) for the Exclusive as compared to a 4-6 months lead time for the lower variant, Excite.

Initial delay happened because MG decided to launch the 2022 face-lift variant in March 22 and all existing bookings were converted to that of 2022 model. The SA was confident that deliveries will start in April and I will get my vehicle definitely in May.

But deliveries to the dealer have been coming in trickles, with most of the new vehicles being diverted to Delhi NCR. BHP-ians from Noida and Gurgaon for example, who have booked their vehicles as late as in Feb 22 have received their deliveries in May and June whereas someone like me who booked in Dec '21, am still waiting...

MG Chennai has promised me delivery in July. I really doubt whether it is really in their control. It is especially galling when a manufacturer plays favourites with geographical territories while allotting vehicles, instead of adopting a "first come first served" approach.

[kapilnitdg]

Originally Posted by ajayc123

Note: Don't Poll before reading Rule 1 below
Rule 1
Poll only if you were(are) in the market for a car in the last 12-18 month and you got one during that period or you are almost getting one. This rule is important, because it will help provide picture of the current times. But then you are not quarantined from this thread, because of the rule 2 (further down).

Music

Things were slow, really slow, back then in the license raj, probably till the late 80s when people happily waited forever (or for years) for their vehicles (even scooters OMG) after booking them. But then, after opening up of the Indian economy in the 90s, with subsequent technological improvements by leaps and bounds, and increase in the purchasing power, we have gradually moved towards instant gratification. So much so, that now we are in the age of NOW. Just wish it, and there’s a Flipkart wish-master to grant your wish, or an Amazon Now, a Swiggy, a BlinkIt, a Zepto, a Dunzo, to get things into your hands in a matter of minutes, or hours, same day, next day. You can even choose delivery slots. I wish these guys could get cars for us. Jokes apart, lets carry on.

When it comes to buying new cars, things have moved backwards. If I recollect my past car purchases, I think it wasn’t as bad as it now. I remember that a couple of decades back (it was 2003), I had casually walked into a Maruti True Value store to get the valuation of my 5 year old car (with a reasonable 78k on the odo), and I was offered higher than what I had expected. I just took an instant decision to exchange my car for a new one (even though retrospectively, the impulsive decision did not turn out to be too much to my liking). The only waiting time was just one or two days to get my cheque cleared. Now, we are in the time of IMPS (Immediate Payment Service) 24 x 7 x 365, where the money gets transferred even before you can blink. Literally instantly (maybe you need a few seconds to wait for the SMS to come for the 2 factor authentication, and a few seconds to key it in, if at all).

Why This Kolaveri Di !

Some of the things that come to the mind:

- Manufacturing and supply chain disruptions due to Covid, especially semiconductor shortage, but it seems to be gradually easing out, or has it
- Huge order backlogs cited by the brands, but how much of that is real (are there bookings that would never convert into a delivery)
- Multiple booking across brands, when you are in the market for car (we are playing our games, fastest finger [dealer] first, how many bookings for 1 car, the more the merrier)
- Creating a perception of huge demand for the product by citing huge waiting list (Perception is reality. I will deliver 2 months later, although I can deliver it now)
- Pent up demand as new car purchases had become a challenge due to covid (aargh! how long can I wait, ‘mera lakhon ka saavan jaye’ )
- Supply control by manufacturers to create scarcity, and thereby protecting margins, and prioritizing shareholders’ interests (who wouldn’t, it’s a business, not charity)
- Zero or minimal penalty for cancellations lead to larger than life order books (brands are happy with a long tail of bookings, dealers are happy with the free financing from the over-bookings for months, you are happy because how does it matters if it sits in the saving bank account or otherwise, anyway, the interest earned for that much amount is a pittance – win brand – win dealer – win you : YAY YAY YAY ! )

I don’t know the truth, why the waiting times for cars seems to be growing. As an individual, with limited understanding, each of us have our world-view, which is the small picture, but then we are always eager to get a hang of the big picture (After all, you need to sound knowledgeable around the water cooler, don’t you? Even more so, since Covid is over, and you are going to be back to office). So I thought, let's create this post to attempt to help improve our collective understanding. But, the picture will be shaped by the BHPians, with me being just the catalyst or the seed. Sometimes engines crank up, and sometimes they don’t, let’s see how and if we get closer to the bigger picture in understanding the car waiting list business. After all, BHPians believe in paying it forward, and am sure a lot of us would be eager and looking for options during the coming festive season kicking off sooner than you know.

I am starting with open hypotheses which could go either ways, but some answer should gradually and “hopefully” evolve. Hopefully, because Fermat’s last theorem (stated in 1637) just took 358 years to solve.

Statistics is always funny because it is always deviates from each individual’s data, but at a collective level, it starts giving a sense that there is a high likelihood that what will happen to most individuals will hover around the answer that statistics provides. Again, statistics itself doesn’t always come with one answer (for example the mean, median, mode, which should be familiar to a lot of us are three different values, moreover it often changes with the model, the sample, and what not). Anyway, the point it, please don’t see the result as cast in stone, but rather a range based on the demographic profiles of TBHP members. So, if it makes some fuzzy sense, then that’s the intent. Moreover, the stories that support the statistics make it much richer.

Of course, the results will come from your contributions, so be trigger happy and take a few seconds to participate in the poll as per the rule (that is, please participate only if you qualify for the poll, no offense meant for those who don't, but there's space for them in rule no 2. TBHP is democratic. )

Never mind. We have to start somewhere, and it starts will you, and as we get more perspectives, something appears to start making sense. And yes, feel free to suggest improvement, after all there’s always a version n+1.

With so many variables, waiting times differ by the car brand / model / variant / colour/and what not, and limited polling features, I have come up with a poll. (Hope that someday, we also move forward technologically, and improve the forum polling features. Has it changed, or it is same as it was a couple decades back ? Not bashing TBHP in anyway, but just musing. After all, TBHP is the elixir for thousands and thousands of souls, and then there are some who come to TBHP, who say they don’t have anything better to do).

I have also been thinking how we can measure something in a way that makes some sense. A lot of thoughts have crossed over the mind as there are always many ways to do something. [Many roads lead to Rome.] But you have to choose one and with the hope that it is better than the others that you had rejected. I don’t have the audacity to bore you with all the options that I considered or the patience to write all of those, as if I clearly remember them all. For brevity (this writeup isn’t actually anything like that, thanks for reaching this far though), I am skipping talking about that.

And thankfully, with the limited polling features in TBHP polls, it should not be that difficult.

Rules

And of course, before the poll, the rule(s) of the thread. Just two:

Rule 1
Poll only if you were(are) in the market for a car in the last 12-18 month and you got one during that period or you are almost getting one. This rule is important, because it will help provide picture of the current times. But then you are not quarantined from this thread, because of the rule 2.

Rule 2
Happily give away your ‘gyan’ to help this world with your experience of your situation, as a response to this thread, even if you don’t meet the poll criteria. And if you do meet the poll criteria, please supplement with your response by elaborating your booking story situation in more details to explain your choice. You can do freewheeling or use the following cues in your story: your choice in the poll / brand / model / variant / year / month / colour / how many booking did you do /how many brands/ your strategy / your tactics / your compromises / your connections / what was the initial waiting time at the time of booking / and when did you actually get the car / and your masala and more masala. After all the TBHP members love to talk.

The Poll

Finally the poll (thankfully, I can't talk till the cows come home.):

When compared to the waiting time estimate provided to you at the time of the booking, when did the actual delivery happen ? Please vote in the poll.

What? Nothing more. It’s your turn to take the driver’s seat.

Attachment 2324508

I booked my Tata Harrier XZA DT Calypso red in first week of December 2021. I received the car in around 15 days. My dealer was Kropex Autos Hosur. They initially estimated 2 months delivery time but I got it earlier

[vasist]

What a wonderful thread idea. So I bought a Baleno just before the second wave started. News had started coming in regarding the chip shortage, and the associated production delays by then. However, production too was stopped for many days due to lockdown, so it was not clear what exactly was causing the delay at that time. I was expecting the delivery to take at least two to three weeks, as the SA was claiming that they have zero stock and production was happening based on actual bookings. So I booked the car in a colour of my choice, and prepared myself for the wait. But, the SA calls me within 5 days stating that my car has reached the dealer stock yard. I still gave them the benefit of doubt expecting someone might have cancelled their booking, and it was allotted to me. By then Maruti's sales had already started declining, and the company was claiming that they have a huge backlog of bookings and they are unable to deliver due to Covid and chip shortage. But then one of my colleague had the exact same experience with an S-cross. That is when I started suspecting that booking numbers and waiting periods are being used to protect multiple hidden interests.

However on the contrary, my brother-in-law booked an XUV 700 more than 9 months back, and got it delivered last week. And guess what, he had booked both a diesel and a petrol XUV expecting to take whichever comes first. So yes, definitely not all the bookings will realistically convert to a purchase. And not all manufactures are facing the same level of constraints, some are just using it as an excuse to protect their own interests.

[PacmanBegins]

I booked my Polo HL+ automatic on December last week of 2021, my dealer promised the car around 3rd week of January, but I got it around 1st week of February. A delay of 2 weeks but that was fine. But the car got delivered, the demand for Polo shot up and I was glad I booked it at the right time.

[dskumar]

XL6 Alpha+ Manual was given a waiting period of 8-10weeks. Got it in 3 weeks time.

[Scarlet_Rider]

New 2022 Baleno, Alpha, Manual Transmission (Grey Colour)

Booked on Monday, 27th June 2022.

Was promised delivery within 2 weeks.

Delivered today, 30th June 2022!

Pretty fast considering that I have taken loan as well.

Car manufactured in June 2022 as per VIN.

[Arun Babu]

Originally Posted by Scarlet_Rider

New 2022 Baleno, Alpha, Manual Transmission (Grey Colour)

Booked on Monday, 27th June 2022.

Was promised delivery within 2 weeks.

Delivered today, 30th June 2022!

Pretty fast considering that I have taken loan as well.

Car manufactured in June 2022 as per VIN.

I think the manual models of New Baleno are getting delivered pretty fast compared to the ags models. Mine ags one booked in Feb last week has reached stockyard 3 days back only and I’m waiting for the BH registration formalities to be over.

[Scarlet_Rider]

Originally Posted by Arun Babu

I think the manual models of New Baleno are getting delivered pretty fast compared to the ags models.

Yes, that's correct. In Hyderabad MT cars are usually delivered within 2 weeks. The AGS ones have a waiting period of 3 months.

[praveen_v]

These long waiting times quoted causes a lot of decisions to be taken unplanned. Was looking for a Automatic CSUV and booked a Sonet HTX+ iMT after a test drive end of May. Since the quoted time was 4-6 months, I was thinking I have ample time to arrange the finance and look out for good deals on current car exchange.

But in an unexpected turn of events, I got allotment within one week of booking and the sales executive was equally surprised at how quickly it got allotted from the factory. I was still following up with sales advisor for Booking ID confirmation when I got vehicle allotment. It was a direct factory allotment and not a case of re-allotment due to cancellation of another person (Confirmed manufacturing date as end of May from VIN). Had to hustle to arrange for finances and exchange since I was never prepared for such early purchase.

Sonet HTX+ iMT
Date of Booking: End of May 2022
Estimated Delivery time: 4-5months
Actual Delivery time - 10 days!!

[rishi.roger]

Once the dealership gets you your VIN, how long does it usually take for PDI to happen in Tier 1 cities ? (Tata ?)

[Rada]

Voted for option 3 - Longer than committed.

I booked the MG ZS EV in Dec 2021. Opted for the higher-end Exclusive version since the SA indicated an earlier delivery (2 to 3 months) for the Exclusive as compared to a 4-6 months lead time for the lower variant, Excite.

Initial delay happened because MG decided to launch the 2022 face-lift variant in March 22 and all existing bookings were converted to that of 2022 model. The SA was confident that deliveries will start in April and I will get my vehicle definitely in May.

But deliveries to the dealer have been coming in trickles, with most of the new vehicles being diverted to Delhi NCR. BHP-ians from Noida and Gurgaon for example, who have booked their vehicles as late as in Feb 22 have received their deliveries in May and June whereas someone like me who booked in Dec '21, am still waiting...

MG Chennai has promised me delivery in July. I really doubt whether it is really in their control. It is especially galling when a manufacturer plays favourites with geographical territories while allotting vehicles, instead of adopting a "first come first served" approach.

[sanjay4616]

Before than committed date. Not eligible for voting as I am newbie here. Recently took delivery of Hyundai New Venue SX(O) DCT.

Actual booking date - 16th May. Was one of the first few unofficial pre-bookings for the newer model.

Delivery Date - 30th June. 6-7 weeks earlier than committed, but had to compromise on colour. Wanted DT White Black which was no longer available.

No delivery time was officially promised as they were not sure during booking. Dealer said will take 8 weeks a day before official launch, which was on 16th June.

I had another booking for Sonet GTX DCT. So, was able to push the dealer for early delivery. Having a pre-approved loan awaiting disbursal or self-financing helps as well.